


girl meets graduation

by fauchevalent



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/F, some slight farkle/smackle but not enough to garner a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:49:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7172435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauchevalent/pseuds/fauchevalent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>maya hates to be a sucker for a good moment, but she's nothing if not predictable, so she leans her head on her best friend's shoulder and tries to pretend she didn't wish she'd used high school to explore what this friendship could've been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	girl meets graduation

**Author's Note:**

> as always, i am not affiliated with gmw!

she's sitting in a cold, plastic chair outside the high school, feeling sorry for herself and thinking back on the past four years when riley's fingers knit into hers.  
"maya, are you okay?" she asks, voice breaking through maya's reverie, and maya smiles warily up at the brunette.  
"remember you said, change fills my pockets with pennies of uncertainty?" maya replies, in lieu of a real answer. riley nods, and maya goes silent again, blinking slowly through nostalgia. smackle has just yielded the mic back to the principal, and maya watches her meet farkle on the edge of the row, ducking in for a kiss as she sits back down.  
it's just about now that maya remembers they aren't in high school anymore.  
watching farkle drop one arm over smackle's shoulder, maya smiles to herself. she recalls the huge grin on riley's face as she'd clapped for smackle's valedictorian speech, a whistle escaping between riley's teeth as the principal read the name isadora smackle over the mic. as she's reminiscing, farkle turns his head and their eyes meet - for a second, maya feels stupid and like he'll be able to read her mind and judge her for not listening to the graduation procession, but instead, he smiles and turns back to smackle.  
"hey maya?" she hears riley ask from beside her, placing their knitted hands in her lap. "change does make me nervous. especially the scary ones. is this going to be a scary one?"  
maya starts to answer, but her words catch and she pauses to think for a moment, so riley runs a finger along maya's index finger and murmurs, "tell me the truth. ring power," as if she was going to lie.   
"all changes are scary, honey." maya says honestly, "but i'll be with you through this one, alright? i'm your safe place." she echoes the sentiment riley gave her a long time ago, before they had to go to counselors to plan college apps and before they realized high school was too short to waste on one boy.  
in return, riley smiles again, squeezing maya's hand and replying, "and i'm yours."  
maya hates to be a sucker for a good moment, but she's nothing if not predictable, so she leans her head on her best friend's shoulder and tries to pretend she didn't wish she'd used high school to explore what this friendship could've been.  
maya is too tired of trying to make excuses as to why she never asked riley out ( she was busy, she had lucas, she had charlie, she had the sats coming up, auggie's birthday was around the corner ), especially since they all boiled down to one thing. maya had been scared.   
now, with the sky turning orange above them and time seeming to move in slow motion, maya felt like this moment was going to last forever. and she wasn't scared anymore.  
the principal said "congratulations graduates," and everyone's caps went up in the air. maya remembered this moment, she had seen it in movies. as the caps came down, a smile fell onto her face and it felt like it took minutes to happen even though it only took seconds.   
riley tipped her cap, high school musical lyrics written across the top in glitter glue, haphazardly atop her head and grinned at maya. maya dropped her own cap atop her head, the abstract color design she'd decided on last minute catching the setting sun, and flicked the tassel of riley's cap into her face. riley threw her head back and laughed, linking her arm through maya's and starting to wander over to where she could see farkle, smackle, zay, and lucas had already gathered.  
"the girls graduated!" farkle says, in greeting, and a cheer goes up over the small group as they all remember they're done. "we all graduated!" lucas adds, for good measure, and riley gives him a one armed hug before making her way to hug across the rest of the group. by the time maya's realized their hands are separated, she's still standing beside lucas, diploma in hand, and blinking after riley ( who has already made it to smackle, and is gushing over her speech ).  
lucas chuckles beside her. "you asked her yet?" he says, like they've ever spoken about riley and maya dating ever, and maya raises an eyebrow. "she's going to college."  
"she is."  
"i can't distract her from college."  
"somehow, i think not asking her might be more of a distraction." lucas says, pulling off his cap. "for both of you," he adds, meaningfully.  
"it still feels slow." maya says softly, watching riley hug farkle. "it feels like i'm in a movie, and someone put on slow motion or something."  
"so have a movie moment." lucas teases, backing up as riley comes back over to maya, beaming. "we have to go find my parents!" riley says, but it doesn't sound so much like she's telling maya as it does she's telling everybody else, and she starts off on the grass, maya in tow, looking for her parents' heads.  
"riley! maya!" they hear, and it's cory matthews, proud as can be and sweeping them both up into hugs. topanga makes it not far behind him, getting her own hugs, and auggie hugs his sister and fist bumps maya.   
she grins.  
the light surrounds riley in a halo as she unzips her gown and shoves it in someone's hands ( insisting maya do the same ) so they can get a picture. maya chuckles, still thinking about the words she'd had with ranger rick as she stands, the setting sun behind her, one hand on her hip and the other on riley, so the matthews can take a photo.  
by now, katy hart has joined the group, and she stands beside topanga and takes the photo too, grinning madly at her daughter.   
both girls have wild smiles, graduation caps, and dresses and heels, standing in the grass in front of the football field. riley's arms are wrapped around maya to keep steady ( she'd had less practice in heels ), and maya feels like she could stay in this moment forever.   
"oh, let's do a fun one!" riley says, and when the parents agree, maya chuckles and shrugs. "sure," she says, and before she knows it, riley's scooped her up and is yelling "quick, quick!" as maya laughs, both her hands immediately linking behind riley's neck for safety. "we got it!" someone yells, and maya slips out of riley's arms, tugging on her dress as riley runs to look at the photo. "oh, that's great!" she says, beckoning maya over, and when maya peers over at the photo she smiles fondly.  
in the photo, maya can see the little details of the moment - she can see riley's dress sparkling gold, she can see her own cap about to fall off her head, arms linked behind riley's neck and a laugh frozen on her face, she can see tendrils of hair falling from riley's bun, framing the quiet laugh that shakes her body.   
maya looks up at riley, spots the loose hairs in real life, and smiles, reaching up and tucking them behind riley's ears. "does it look silly?" riley asks her, and maya shakes her head.  
"it looks lovely, riles." she tells her honestly, and riley lights up.   
the families announce that they have to get going so the girls can go take more pictures, but that they'll meet them at the after party, and riley wraps her arms around cory's neck and says her goodbyes. katy kisses maya on the top of her head and topanga wishes a 'good luck' into maya's hair.  
when they're standing alone, heels starting to sink into the grass, and the noise is starting to envelop them, maya reaches over and grabs riley's hand. "hey."  
"hey."  
"we did it."  
"we certainly did, peaches." riley replies, kicking her heels off and sinking her feet and tights into the ground. "we certainly did."  
maya looks over at the serene expression on riley's face and thinks of how she's been beside her since they got ready this morning at eight am. how she's been beside her since they were seven.  
she thinks about lucas's advice and she thinks about topanga's 'good luck' and farkle's knowing smile.   
"riley, i've been thinking about this all day." maya blurts out, and riley is quiet as maya takes her jump, turning to face her and catch riley's chin in her palm. when she pulls back, maya is too out of it to ask if that was the stupidest idea she's ever had, but luckily, riley raises an eyebrow. "just today?" she asks, and maya bites her lip. "maybe... a  _little bit_ longer."  
"a little bit, huh?" riley replies, and maya chuckles softly. "shut up," she says anyway, probably because her mind is too out of focus to craft a well thought out reply.  
"make me." she hears riley reply, and maya's eyes slowly drift up to meet riley's. "what?"   
"i said make me," she repeats, and maya lifts her chin and puts her hands on riley's shoulders to push herself up and suddenly she's feeling a lot more confident about this whole thing - maybe it's riley's hands on her waist, or maybe it's how before long, riley is biting gently on maya's lip and laughing. "i think," riley says, pulling away but keeping herself pressed against maya, "that we've got people waiting for us at the party."  
maya gives a hum of understanding and laces their fingers together, and they pick up riley's shoes and head towards the doors to the gym.  
they run into their friends first. lucas is nursing a cup of punch and zay is taking swigs out of a bottle of water, and both of them are smiling as they watch the girls walk in. maya's heels click against the wooden floors and riley slips against them in her socks like a dream.   
"hey." lucas greets them, and maya waves. "hey," riley replies casually, "how's the party?"  
"oh," zay pipes up, "not  _that_ interesting." there are people walking in and out, and wind from outside flows easily through the propped open doors. "yeah, you guys could probably just hang out together." lucas adds, pretending to give the party an appraising glance.   
that's when it hits maya - he still thinks she hasn't talked to riley - and she blushes a little bit. evidently, riley realizes they're being set up too, because she starts laughing like a madwoman. "oh gosh, phew. i think you guys need some lessons in subtlety, huh, honey?" she directs the second half of her statement to maya and maya finds herself smirking. "oh, definitely."  
riley leans in conspiratorially to lucas and zay and says, "for instance, maya and i just kissed a lot outside. it was really good. but we're being  _subtle_ about it."   
actually, maya thinks, the giant grin on riley's face as she tells them this is decidedly less than subtle, and the way she lights up as she says it is a) cute and b) not subtle.  
maya is just sort of looking at riley's face when she realizes some of her lip color rubbed off on riley's lips, and she wonders how her own lips look in comparison. "hey, riles," she starts, as lucas and zay are still grinning to each other, "you got some -" she gestures at her lips, and riley reaches up to investigate with her index finger, coming down with a little bit of coral on her fingertip. "oh, cute. we match." she says, chuckling, and farkle and smackle are starting to come over just as riley is interrogating maya on  _just how much_ lip color is on her lips.   
"hey guys," smackle greets, and farkle turns to maya and riley. "oh look, you guys match." he says, and then, as he seems to realize what he said, he points at them and says, "you didn't do that on purpose, huh?"  
riley grins. "we do match though, right?"  
maya wraps her arm loosely around riley ( using swatting her as if she was annoyed as an excuse ) and dares farkle to make a comment.  
farkle just shakes his head and chuckles. "good on you two. took you long enough."  
"hey, what's that supposed to -" maya starts, but she freezes as she catches cory's eye above farkle's head and the matthews family starts over to the group.  
"i just mean that i thought you guys would -" farkle is replying when maya slaps a hand over his mouth and says "himrmatthewsdontmindhim," in one big breath.   
riley giggles and it takes all that's in maya not to kiss her now that she knows she can.  
"uh... you kids okay over here?" cory asks, and topanga thwaps him on the shoulder, her hand landing on his side and her head leaning against his shoulder. "they're not kids anymore, cory, they're newly graduated adults. and i don't know how i'm going to handle that, but i'm proud of you kids." she says, smiling fondly at the group.  
auggie excuses himself to get a cup of punch and maya's fingers splay against riley's side, starting to tap nervously.   
"we're fine, mr. matthews," lucas assures him, "nothing to worry about."  
"alright. just asking because, you know." he gestures farkle's way and maya chuckles. farkle, his mouth uncovered, smiles. "it's alright."  
topanga's eyes search the group in the ensuing quiet and land on maya's hand, pressed against riley's side. her mouth twists into a smirk. "maya, will you be asking riley to prom this year?" she asks, and maya flushes with color. "i - i don't - i had - i -"   
"maya, prom?" riley asks from beside her, and maya laughs. "hmm..." she pretends to consider this, even though before they'd even kissed, maya's dress was coordinated with riley's. "i guess so," she says, and riley leans over and pecks her on the cheek. "dad, please don't accost my girlfriend." riley adds as cory opens his mouth to ask something, and everyone freezes.  
"from the mouths of babes," cory says, adding, "maybe i was just going to ask when she was coming over to get ready."  
maya didn't know riley was ready to call them girlfriends yet, and she definitely isn't ready for the way her grip on riley automatically tightens in preparation.   
lucas, zay, farkle, and smackle are silent, unmoving and unsure how to handle the moment, and topanga says "i hope you plan on being a little more romantic then 'maya, prom' on your prom night," to which riley grins and kisses maya on the lips.  
"oh," maya murmurs softly, and then, once they break apart and lucas says "i did tell you you'd work it out," to which maya responds by kissing riley again and everyone whoops a little. riley's foot pops for the full effect and she grins widely at maya as they pull apart.  
"what happened while i was gone?" auggie asks, reappearing on the scene, and maya grins. "i'm dating your sister."  
"oh, it happened? and i missed it?" he gives maya her first hug of the day and whispers "i'm glad it's you" into her ear.  
"me too," maya replies, and she leans her head on riley's shoulder, "me too."


End file.
